Coding & Billing
The following codes as of September 2019 are provided as a reference and may be relevant when billing for KEYTRUDA and its administration. Consult the relevant manual and/or other guidelines for a description of each code to determine the appropriateness of its use and for information on additional codes. Diagnosis codes should be selected only by a health care professional. You are solely responsible for determining the appropriate codes and for any action you take in billing.
When submitting a claim for KEYTRUDA, always verify coding requirements with the relevant payer. Coding requirements may vary by insurer or plan; please refer to the payer-specific policies to understand what may be covered.
Check with the relevant payer regarding guidance on which diagnoses they will recognize and the applicability of secondary codes. Health care professionals are solely responsible for selecting codes that appropriately reflect the patient’s diagnosis, the services rendered, and the applicable payers’ guidelines.
Providers should document the diagnosis with a sufficiently high degree of specificity based on the information available to enable the identification of the most appropriate code. Although CMS has said that an unspecified code may be appropriate in some cases, CMS has advised that you should always code with as much specificity as possible consistent with the clinical documentation.
Merck and its agents make no warranties concerning the accuracy or appropriateness of this information for your particular use given the frequent changes in public and private payer billing. Merck cautions that payer-coding requirements vary and can frequently change, so it is important to regularly check with each payer or, where applicable, the Medicare Administrative Contractor as to payer-specific requirements. The use of this information does not guarantee payment or that any payment received will cover your costs.
Indication
KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), or who have relapsed after 2 or more prior lines of therapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. KEYTRUDA is not recommended for treatment of patients with PMBCL who require urgent cytoreductive therapy.
FDA-Approved Dosing
The FDA-approved dose of KEYTRUDA in adults is 200 mg administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every 3 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or up to 24 months in patients without disease progression.
The FDA-approved dose of KEYTRUDA in pediatric patients is 2 mg/kg (up to a maximum of 200 mg), administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, or up to 24 months in patients without disease progression.
Possible relevant diagnosis codes for PMBCL
Learn more about each diagnosis code and descriptor by selecting from the series options below.